Verizon App Challenge Targets Developers with Emphasis in STEM Fields

8/14/2013 2:55:04 PM

The Verizon Innovative App Challenge is an exciting, creative and collaborative competition that offers $10,000 grants for winning middle schools and high schools and Samsung Galaxy Tabs for winning students. Created to ignite students’ interest in (STEM), the Challenge also opens their eyes to exciting new possibilities for their futures.

The Verizon Innovative App Challenge is an exciting, creative and collaborative competition that offers $10,000 grants for winning middle schools and high schools and Samsung Galaxy Tabs for winning students. Created to ignite students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), the Challenge also opens their eyes to exciting new possibilities for their futures, opening doors they may never have known were there.

Working with a faculty advisor in teams of 5-10, students will develop an original concept for a mobile app that incorporates STEM and addresses a real need or problem in their school or community. While designing their apps, students will consider marketplace need, usefulness, audience and viability. Teams will submit their design concepts online through a visual presentation accompanied by an essay.

One middle school and one high school team from each state will be judged “Best in State” and team members will be invited to participate in a live webinar hosted by Verizon Foundation featuring industry experts who will share how they use STEM skills in their own careers.

A distinguished panel of STEM educators and corporate innovators will then judge the top Best in State teams and provide feedback on their design concepts to each team via a live webinar. The 10 overall winning teams will then be selected and announced.

Each of the 10 winning schools (5 middle school and 5 high school teams) will receive $10,000 cash grants plus professional support and training to help them bring their designs to life by building their apps and bringing them to the marketplace. Students on each winning team will receive a Samsung Galaxy Tab and be invited to present their developed apps in person – on their new tablets – at the 2013 National Technology Student Association Conference in Orlando, Florida in June.

The Verizon Innovative App Challenge offers a rich, project-based learning experience that fosters teamwork among students with a wide variety of academic interests and strengths.

It’s a unique opportunity for students around the country to explore new ideas and potential careers in STEM that will serve them well in the future.